Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week

TORONTO — Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week:

Wholesale trade figures

StatCan is scheduled to release wholesale trade figures for March on Wednesday. The agency reported that sales were up 0.7 per cent to $67.5 billion in February, despite the effects of rail blockades and the early days of the arrival of COVID-19.

Molson update

Molson Coors will hold its annual meeting on Wednesday in Montreal. The beer maker told shareholders in April that it expects a challenging second quarter due to the coronavirus, following a difficult start to the year after a deadly shooting at its Milwaukee brewery in February.

April inflation

StatCan is scheduled to release its Consumer Price Index for April on Wednesday. Figures for March showed that the annual pace of inflation in Canada posted its biggest one-month decline in more than a decade, dropping below one per cent as the price of oil collapsed and the economy was first gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aircraft movement

StatCan is scheduled to release its weekly aircraft movements for the week of May 2 to 8 on Wednesday, which will provide a glimpse of the state of Canada’s airline industry. Regional carriers have made it clear that they may not survive the pandemic without a tailor-made support program from Ottawa as border shutdowns and the collapse of global travel continue to choke off demand.

Retail trade

Statistics Canada is scheduled to release its retail trade figures for March on Friday. The agency reported that retail sales rose for the fourth consecutive month in February, up 0.3 per cent to $52.2 billion, as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic had yet to materially affect the economy.